Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them. Had Shakespeare been living today, perhaps he would add an extra category because Novak Djokovic would appear to embody all three.

The Serb has dominated the sport for the past 18 months, winning four out of five grand slam events and taking over from Rafael Nadal as world No1. Victory at the French Open, which begins in Paris on Sunday, would make him the first man since Australia's Rod Laver in 1969 to win four successive grand slam titles. Already considered a great player, should he win at Roland Garros he would be immortalised.

"I have to say I do think about what it would be like," says a tanned and relaxed Djokovic, oozing confidence. "I would be lying if I said otherwise because it is my dream, it is something that has been in my head for a while. I want to win the Roland Garros title and I will go in with this mindset. I feel confident. I feel that I have enough qualities to win against anybody on this surface on a given day."

This summer, he will defend his Wimbledon title and chase a gold medal at the Olympics, where he will carry the flag for his country at the opening ceremony. "It's been an incredible run for me since January 2011," he says. The calendar year grand slam of Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles remains the sport's holy grail but winning four in a row would be an incredible achievement in an era in which Roger Federer and Nadal have won 26 grand slams between them.

"This is the period of my career where I'm playing my best tennis," Djokovic adds. "I always imagined myself being the best at what I do and always worked hard for it. I want to be here, I need this challenge and now that I am here, I am working really to stay where I am.

"I have never made the final at the French Open. I played a couple of semi‑finals and maybe now this year is an opportunity for me to go out there and try to get my hands on the trophy. If I don't, it's not going to be the end of the world. I am still 25 and if I am healthy enough, I hope to have many more years to come to achieve this mission.''

Listening to Djokovic, it is clear he believes he is playing for more than just himself. Growing up in Belgrade, his formative years were scarred by the Nato bombings in 1999, hiding until it was safe to go back on the tennis courts. He moved to Munich to continue his progression at the age of 13 but it is hard to think of anyone more Serbian in character and more patriotic in nature than the world No1.

"I am proud where I come from. Of course I am going to have my country in my character. We are very emotional people. I believe not just the tennis players but all the successful athletes that come from my country have had success mostly because of the mental strength and overcoming the really difficult times that our country was facing in the last 20 to 30 years.

"We struggled very much with wars, embargoes and sanctions, economic and political issues and inflation. The average [monthly] salary in our country is €250 to €300. But many people have hopes and good positive energy now and a lot of those hopes actually come from sport. This is one of the greatest, if not the greatest asset our country has. That's why our group of athletes from Serbia, we all feel in a way an extra responsibility to represent our country wherever we go in an added way. Not just by playing somewhere but always talking about it. I believe my country deserves more than it gets at this moment press-wise, and hopefully it is going to turn around.''

Such is Djokovic's stature at home, his compatriot and the world No8 Janko Tipsarevic jokingly calls him The President, so it is no surprise that he will be carrying Serbia's flag at the Olympics.

"It feels incredible to be asked," he says. "I remember being at the opening ceremony in Beijing and how it felt to be a part of that, in front of 90,000 to 100,000 people and God knows how many millions watching around the world. I believe London will do a great job. Just the thought of carrying the flag there, it's mind-blowing really."

First, though, it is Paris and the kingdom of Nadal, who has won the title six times in seven years. Beating him twice on clay last year gave Djokovic belief and though the Spaniard has won their two clay-court encounters this year, the Serb's confidence is still high. "I have dreamed about winning the title," he said. "This is a positive sign. I never looked at the scoreboard but I did remember lifting the trophy."

And is there a place alongside his other grand slam titles to put the Coupe des Mousquetaires, should he triumph a fortnight on Sunday? "Trust me, if I need to rent a new room especially for that trophy, I will do it. You can always find a space."